IT and society: New study by the Gates Foundation

At least half of all Americans living below the federal poverty line go to libraries and other public institutions in order to use computers and Internet. This is the large-scale national study, conducted by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, the University of Washington Information School and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Overall, 44 percent of respondents, who have income below 2 thousand dollars per family member, said that the last time they surfed the Internet was at the city library or another public institution, which provided free Internet access.

According to the National report nearly one-third of Americans aged 14 or older – roughly 77 million people – used a public library computer or wireless network to access the free Internet in the past year. The report’s findings are based on nearly 50,000 surveys – including the national telephone survey and web survey responses – from patrons of more than 400 public libraries across the country.

Thus, 40 percent of library computer users received help with career needs. Among these users, 75 percent reported they searched for a job online. Half of these users filled out an online application or submitted a resume. 37 percent of respondents focused on health issues. The vast majority of these users logged on to learn about a disease, illness, medical condition or location of the nearest medical institution.  42 percent received help with educational needs (to do homework for a class, for instance). Sixty-percent of users used a library’s computer resources to connect with others.